Sports Medicine

Exertional heat stroke (EHS) and malignant hyperthermia (MH) are life-threatening conditions, triggered by different environmental stimuli that share several clinical symptoms and pathophysiological features. EHS manifests during physical activity normally, but not always, in hot and humid environments. MH manifests during exposure to haloalkane anesthetics or succinylcholine, which leads to a rapid, unregulated release of calcium (Ca2+ ) within the skeletal muscles inducing a positive-feedback loop within the excitation-contraction coupling mechanism that culminates in heat stroke-like symptoms, if not rapidly recognized and treated...

INTRODUCTION: Menthol topical application and mouth rinsing are ergogenic in hot environments, improving performance and perception, with differing effects on body temperature regulation. Consequently, athletes and federations are beginning to explore the possible benefits to elite sport performance for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, which will take place in hot (~ 31 °C), humid (70% RH) conditions. There is no clear consensus on safe and effective menthol use for athletes, practitioners, or researchers...

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BACKGROUND: Critical power (CP) has been redefined as the new 'gold standard' that represents the boundary between the heavy- and severe-exercise intensity domains and hence the maximal metabolic steady state (MMSS). However, several other "thresholds", for instance, the maximal lactate steady state [MLSS], ventilatory thresholds [VT1 , VT2 ] and respiratory compensation point [RCP]) have been considered synonymous with CP. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to systematically review the scientific literature and perform a meta-analysis to determine the degree of correspondence/difference between CP and MLSS, VT1 , VT2 and RCP...

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Generating high levels of muscular strength and power are important for success in sport and may have long-term implications for sporting careers in youth athletes. Importantly, maturation may confound the neuromuscular adaptations to resistance training when attempting to differentiate between training- vs. growth-induced strength and power gains; thus, potentially leading to erroneous conclusions regarding the efficacy of resistance training in youth athletes. The aim of this review was to critically appraise the literature concerning the efficacy of externally loaded free-weight resistance training on strength and power measures in youth athletes at different stages of maturity...

BACKGROUND: The acute: chronic workload ratio (ACWR) is an index of the acute workload relative to the cumulative chronic workloads. The monitoring of physical workloads using the ACWR has emerged and been hypothesized as a useful tool for coaches and athletes to optimize performance while aiming to reduce the risk of potentially preventable load-driven injuries. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to describe characteristics of the ACWR and investigate the association of the ACWR with the risk of time-loss injuries in adult elite team sport athletes...

Global health organizations have provided recommendations regarding exercise for the general population. Strength training has been included in several position statements due to its multi-systemic benefits. In this narrative review, we examine the available literature, first explaining how specific mechanical loading is converted into positive cellular responses. Secondly, benefits related to specific musculoskeletal tissues are discussed, with practical applications and training programmes clearly outlined for both common musculoskeletal disorders and primary prevention strategies...

BACKGROUND: The absence of evidence-based guidelines make medical disqualification (MDQ) following concussion one of the most challenging decision-making processes faced by sports medicine professionals. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare premorbid and postmorbid factors between student-athletes that were and were not medically disqualified from sport following a concussion. METHODS: Among 1832 student-athletes diagnosed with concussion within the CARE Consortium, 53 (2...

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BACKGROUND: Lower extremity overuse injuries are common in athletes participating in sports with repeated bouts of landing manoeuvres. Biomechanical alterations during landing may be associated with these types of injuries. The objective of this systematic review with meta-analysis was to summarise and determine the relationship between kinematic alterations during a landing task and the development of lower extremity overuse injuries in physically active populations. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus were consulted up to and including February 2020...

Coaches and athletes in elite sports are constantly seeking to use innovative and advanced training strategies to efficiently improve strength/power performance in already highly-trained individuals. In this regard, high-intensity conditioning contractions have become a popular means to induce acute improvements primarily in muscle contractile properties, which are supposed to translate to subsequent power performances. This performance-enhancing physiological mechanism has previously been called postactivation potentiation (PAP)...

BACKGROUND: Talent identification and development (TID) programs aim to identify players with the greatest potential for long-term success. Previous research suggests that the assessment of sport-specific technical skills is valuable for discriminating between more and less skilled individuals and/or for predicting future performance. OBJECTIVE: This review aims to provide an overview on both the instruments used to assess sport-specific technical skills and their discriminatory, explanatory and/or predictive findings in the context of TID...

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BACKGROUND: Change-of-direction (CoD) speed is a physical fitness attribute in many field-based team and individual sports. To date, no systematic review with meta-analysis available has examined the effects of resistance training (RT) on CoD speed in youth and adults. OBJECTIVE: To aggregate the effects of RT on CoD speed in youth and young physically active and athletic adults, and to identify the key RT programme variables for training prescription. DATA SOURCES: A systematic literature search was conducted with PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, with no date restrictions, up to October 2019, to identify studies related to the effects of RT on CoD speed...

The ongoing global pandemic brought on by the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is having profound effects on human health and well-being. With no viable vaccine presently available and the virus being rapidly transmitted, governments and national health authorities have acted swiftly, recommending 'lockdown' policies and/or various levels of social restriction/isolation to attenuate the rate of infection. An immediate consequence of these strategies is reduced exposure to daylight, which can result in marked changes in patterns of daily living such as the timing of meals, and sleep...

BACKGROUND: Chronic exercise training has been shown be to positively associated with executive function (EF) in older adults. However, whether the exercise training effect on EF is affected by moderators including the specific sub-domain of EF, exercise prescription variables, and sample characteristics remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: This systematic and meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigated the effects of exercise training on EF in older adults and explored potential moderators underlying the effects of exercise training on EF...

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